Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of torture and murder.
Lee Perkins’s family say he was an open-hearted, empathetic, sweet young man.
The 25-year-old communicated daily with his mom, brought joy to his dad, idolized his older brother, and confided his hopes and dreams to his sister-in-law.
His older brother Austin shared that one day while they were watching TV together, Austin made an insensitive comment about someone of another ethnicity, and Lee “lost it.”
Lee told Austin about his friend Edin Vrazalica, who had grown up in Sarajevo during the siege and war there in the 1990s, and the hardships he had endured.
“He scolded me, for what I said, and rightly so. That’s the kind of person Lee was,” Austin said.
“That fight we had is burned into my brain because of the tragic irony. The one he was defending was the same person that would later be accused of torturing him, murdering him and mutilating his body.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wrap my mind around the pain my brother was forced to endure. It kills me inside to know I couldn’t protect him.”
Austin spoke on Tuesday via an audio link in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench at the sentencing hearing for Vrazalica, 37, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing Lee.
Court heard that Lee became friends with Vrazalica when they worked together in construction in Alberta in 2022.
Lee’s family spoke about how they were proud of the young man for getting that job and working hard, but that there were hints about the dark underside of the friendship.
Lee Perkins’s family shared their grief in September during a sentencing hearing for a co-accused in the case. From left, Lee’s brother Austin, his father Cam, his mother Nannette and his sister-in-law Natasha. (Hannah Spray/CBC)
Missing drugs spark assault
During the hearing, Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss read the agreed facts, laying out the events that led to Lee’s death.
Vrazalica was involved in the drug trade and drew Lee in with him. Together with Vrazalica’s girlfriend Chantal McLaren, they drove a shipment of a drug — bromazolam, a type of benzodiazepine — from Vancouver to Saskatoon in January 2024.
On Feb. 1, 2024, Lee was sleeping, intoxicated, on a couch at 610 Lisgar Avenue in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood. Someone called 911, for reasons unknown, and reported violence at the home.
When patrol officers arrived, they found the door was damaged and barricaded, but they were able to push their way in. They didn’t see any signs of violence, but they saw and seized some plastic bottles filled with liquid.
They didn’t charge or arrest Lee.
When Vrazalica returned to the home, he was angry with Lee about the missing drugs. Bliss said Vrazalica had also found some pills in McLaren’s purse and believed Lee had given them to her, while Vrazalica wanted her “to achieve sobriety.”
Vrazalica and a second man, Dillon Singler, assaulted Lee. Graphic videos that were recorded on a cellphone and shared through Snapchat were played in court. During the assault, Vrazalica cut four of Lee’s fingers off.
Photos taken by police showed that blood spatter reached almost to the ceiling.
Lee died from a deep cut to his throat and the associated blood loss. His arms and legs were bound.
Police tape surrounded the house where police found the body of Lee Perkins. (Liam O’Connor/CBC)
Bliss said that on Feb. 2, 2024, McLaren bought supplies to clean the scene, as well as a large, 45-gallon plastic tote, into which Vrazalica crammed Lee’s contorted body.
Saskatoon police received information from a confidential informant about an assault, Bliss said. Their investigation brought them to 610 Lisgar Avenue, late in the night on Feb. 2. As they set up covert surveillance in the neighbourhood and began drafting a search warrant, officers decided to arrest people if they emerged from the home.
Around 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2024, McLaren and a second woman left the home. They ran in separate directions as police moved in. A video from a doorbell camera played in court showed police chasing down a woman while she screamed.
A short time later, Vrazalica came out of the home and ran at officers with what appeared to be a weapon, and they shot him. He survived.
When police entered the home, they found Lee’s body in the tote.
Edin Vrazalica has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Lee Perkins in February 2024 in Saskatoon. CBC agreed not to identify the source of this photo due to safety concerns. (Submitted)
3 people charged
McLaren has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder and is awaiting a sentencing decision in her case.
Singler has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but has not yet been sentenced, as the Crown is applying to have him designated a dangerous offender.
Vrazalica’s lawyer Chris Murphy said in court that while his client has been willing to plead to manslaughter from an early point, the Crown only agreed to a plea on that charge on the eve of Vrazalica’s trial for first-degree murder, which was scheduled to begin on Monday and last for three weeks.
Bliss said on Monday that the deaths of some witnesses and “potential” changes to some witnesses’s evidence were factors in the plea agreement. His co-Crown prosecutor Muhammad Zubair also gave some insight into that when he spoke about the sentencing submissions on Tuesday.
“No one has taken accountability for cutting Lee’s throat. Due to a number of challenges, the Crown is in the unenviable position of accepting a guilty plea to manslaughter,” Zubair said in court.
Crown prosecutors Muhammad Zubair, left, and Cory Bliss speak to reporters outside Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday, after the sentencing of Edin Vrazalica. (Hannah Spray/CBC)
When he was given the opportunity to speak, Vrazalica stood and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He said he will have to live with his choices for the rest of his life.
“I know my words will never be enough,” he said. “Sorry for the choices I made that contributed to so many damaged lives. I was in the nightmare of my addiction. … Lee did not deserve this.”
Murphy said outside court that his client is going to have many years to think about what he did and try to make amends.
He said Vrazalica’s crime is a sign of the magnitude of the effects the illegal drug trade has on our community.
“The downstream effects of drugs on the communty is so dire [and] impossible to comprehend, until you have a day like you have today,” Murphy said.
Chris Murphy, Edin Vrazalica’s lawyer, speaks outside Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
20-year sentence
The Crown and defence jointly recommended a sentence of 20 years on the manslaughter charge. They also recommended a sentence of time served, or about 22 months of remand credit, for the charge of offering an indignity to human remains.
That means that Vrazalica gets no remand credit deducted from the 20-year manslaughter sentence.
Justice Richard Danyliuk accepted the recommendation, noting that joint submissions are an important part of the Canadian justice system.
He also addressed Vrazalica.
“What you did, this crime, was an absolute atrocity. I cannot think of a different word. Your conduct was atrocious and it was disgusting,” the judge said.
Danyliuk said Vrazalica thinks he’s a “tough guy,” but that Danyliuk was watching Vrazalica while the videos and photos were played in court.
“Everyone was looking. Everyone was almost paralyzed in having to look,” Danyliuk said. “Except you. You looked down. You couldn’t look at and you could not face what you did.”
